2020 Predictions

Where will Freo finnish this Season?

  • Top 6

  • Middle 6

  • Bottom 6

  • 50 Point loss to Gold Coast bad

  • 60 Point thrashing of Wet Toast good

  • Port like roller coaster


Results are only viewable after voting.

Docker Gun

Bottom of the top.
Jan 8, 2020
218
156
Joondalup
AFL Club
Fremantle
Other Teams
Perth Scorchers, West Perth
I just wanna see the crowd estimates for the league this year.
You can either use Squiggle or the poll.
Tanks ;)
 
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Docker Gun

Bottom of the top.
Jan 8, 2020
218
156
Joondalup
AFL Club
Fremantle
Other Teams
Perth Scorchers, West Perth
WLD%
1.Fremantle1480101.7%
2.Brisbane Lions1390101.3%
3.Collingwood1390101.1%
4.Geelong1390101.1%
5.Richmond12100101.2%
6.GWS12100100.8%
7.Carlton12100100.0%
8.West Coast11110100.4%
9.Western Bulldogs11110100.2%
10.Melbourne11110100.2%
11.Port Adelaide1111099.7%
12.North Melbourne1012099.7%
13.St Kilda1012099.6%
14.Sydney1012099.5%
15.Hawthorn1012099.5%
16.Essendon913098.8%
17.Adelaide913098.5%
18.Gold Coast715096.9%
QF1: FREMANTLE v Geelong


QF2: Brisbane Lions v COLLINGWOOD
EF1: RICHMOND v West Coast
EF2: GWS v Carlton

SF1: GEELONG v Richmond
SF2: BRISBANE LIONS v GWS

PF1: FREMANTLE v Brisbane Lions
PF2: COLLINGWOOD v Geelong

GF: FREMANTLE v Collingwood
 
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Monument Hills

Cancelled
Dec 12, 2017
2,200
5,199
AFL Club
Fremantle
Other Teams
Hufflepuff, Wildcats, WCE womens
have a competitive first 22, but depth very young and inexperienced. Injury list is the most important thing (again). However, S&C doesn't appear to have been changed and neither has the Optus surface so my expectations are very low regardless of the excitement around the new coaches etc.
 

Purpletown

Club Legend
Sep 22, 2014
2,188
4,546
Restumping
AFL Club
Fremantle
Other Teams
SFFC Denver Broncos
I don't think 2020 is going to be much better than last season.
We have a young and inexperienced list, we have some injury concerns over key players, our S&C form is very poor and will need to significantly improve if we are to keep our best team on the park long enough to gain any momentum.
JLo may or may not be a decent coach but it will probably take a while for him to grow into the role of head coach. Having Josh Carr as an assistant should help JLo imo
All that aside this season may well be a foundation stone on building a better team for the future.
 

yyou

Norm Smith Medallist
Sep 18, 2014
5,756
7,169
AFL Club
Fremantle
Other Teams
NY Mets, NO Pelicans, Toronto Leafs
My irrational love for Freo is such that my expectations matched to reality are like a non-famous & broke Cameron Ling lookalike thinking he can score a Victoria's Secret model.
But it's like the Pacino scene in Godfather III where he tells of keep being dragged back in
 

Square Peg

Cancelled
Fremantle Poster of the Year Fremantle Board Tipping Champion
Jul 20, 2014
8,194
18,414
AFL Club
Fremantle
At least this thread makes more sense now than the one started before trade period started and the fixture had even come out!
Middle 6 sounds about right. Though I'd be disappointed with 12th and ecstatic to play a final.
 

Schauermann

Norm Smith Medallist
Jun 27, 2011
7,308
5,005
Hamburg
AFL Club
Fremantle
Middle 6, probably more lower middle six. Bottom 6 woudl be a disappointment. Top 6 very surprising. But really hard to judge season. Have decent key positions players now. Questionsmarks over our midfield. Could really click when same player break out but also collopse after a Fyfe injury.
 

Confucius

Senior List
Jan 7, 2016
160
528
AFL Club
Fremantle
At the end of round 13, 2019, we were in 6th spot with the 5th best percentage in the comp and defensively the 2nd best.

After the injury toll mounted we lacked the depth to replace all of the talls who went down and the wheels fell off winning only 2 of our last 10 games.

I think most of us are left with a pretty sour taste from our horror end to the year, but it's worth considering that we were pretty strong for the first half of 2019. Yes, we've lost some flair in BHill and Ed but the core remains and if we can add a fit S Hill, Wilson and Hogan back in as well as all Tabs, Pearce... I think we have a soft enough draw to make a really good start.

I don't think we have the depth to finish top 6 but the question for me is whether we can sneak into a top 8 spot and get some finals experience into the youngsters. It probably depends on how much growth we see from Cerra, Brayshaw, Tucker, Darcy, Blakely, Logue, Bewley and if any of the kids can really step up.

My prediction: Middle 6. Inconsistent season with some surprising wins and disappointing losses, fading towards the end of the year but promising signs from a couple of our young kids and a few 21-23 year olds.

2021: Top 8
2022: :trophy:
 
Jan 30, 2012
10,053
9,515
Midnight Sea
AFL Club
Fremantle
Other Teams
Cronulla Sharks
Middle 6, probably more lower middle six. Bottom 6 woudl be a disappointment. Top 6 very surprising. But really hard to judge season. Have decent key positions players now. Questionsmarks over our midfield. Could really click when same player break out but also collopse after a Fyfe injury.

This./\

A lot of variables and unpredictablity with a new coaching regime and a swarth of new players. It's all rather exciting.

I think middle 6 (most likely lower middle 6) - however more than happy to eat my words and for Freo to win a premiership.
 

dardydoomp

Draftee
Nov 22, 2018
2
48
AFL Club
Fremantle
I predict Son Son will have his best year yet and take some serious Brownlow points off Fyfe...I say this because his greatest footy influence was Lyons kick up the bum early on. Sonny has never appeared to fully own what he and he alone has done. I think getting out from underneath his mentors skirt is going to empower him no end. I’m seeing it already in the way he presents...He’s got another level .smiley face emoji
 

theGav56

Brownlow Medallist
Oct 11, 2004
29,348
29,310
Bali
AFL Club
Fremantle
Other Teams
Fremantle
Going to be like 2017-19 again.

A solid 1st half. Win 4-6 wins out of 11 then injuries start to hit and win 2-3 out of the last 10 games of the season
I would be really disappointed if we tail off in the second half of the season as badly as we have the past few years. I think it has been mainly due to two factors, injury and youth.

Injuries happen and to some extent are beyond control. But we have gradually culled the long term injured players in Bennel, Apeness, Sandilands and Ballantyne, and there is positivity surrounding SHill.

Youth should start to work in our favor now with a number of key young players getting towards the 50 game mark. Logue, Darcy, Cerra and Brayshaw haven’t touched their full potential yet, and have partly been played to fast track their development. But this season should see them be legitimate, productive best 22.

A best 22 for 2020 typically doesn’t include the likes of Hughes, Duman, Banfield, Colyer, Cox, Switkowski, Bewley. Names like Matera and McCarthy aren’t automatically locked in either. Plus two key draftees, Valente and Sturt, from last year are going to push to debut and having been injured last season will enter the season with a little bit more physical development as a result. Both look physically stronger, and Valente looks powerful. Worth noting that they are both part of the recruiting strategy to target players with better skills.
 
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wahooo

Club Legend
Oct 9, 2019
1,905
3,228
AFL Club
Fremantle
I would be really disappointed if we tail off in the second half of the season as badly as we have the past few years. I think it has been mainly due to two factors, injury and youth.

Injuries happen and to some extent are beyond control. But we have gradually culled the long term injured players in Bennel, Apeness, Sandilands and Ballantyne, and there is positivity surrounding SHill.

Youth should start to work in our favor now with a number of key young players getting towards the 50 game mark. Logue, Darcy, Cerra and Brayshaw haven’t touched their full potential yet, and have partly been played to fast track their development. But this season should see them be legitimate, productive best 22.

A best 22 for 2020 typically doesn’t include the likes of Hughes, Duman, Banfield, Colyer, Cox, Switkowski, Bewley. Names like Matera and McCarthy aren’t automatically locked in either. Plus two key draftees, Valente and Sturt, from last year are going to push to debut and having been injured last season will enter the season with a little bit more physical development as a result. Both look physically stronger, and Valente looks powerful. Worth noting that they are both part of the recruiting strategy to target players with better skills.
I think your assessment of the state of the list is spot on certainly looking forward to the young talent coming through.

However, I can't help but feel everyone (not necessarily you) is getting a little over optimistic. I think Jlo will be a great coach but what's to say that it doesn't take time for the group to buy into his game plan and for it all to click?

You point to our youth, yes they're developing nicely and there's that core group of Andy, Cerra, Darcy and Logue but outside of that things are pretty fresh and raw. And yes we look to have a little bit more depth this year but that will quickly be tested with a few injuries if they occur.

This is only my first pre season on BF yet I can't help but feel that our expectations of our squad are a little far fetched. I'm not saying things are going to be as s**t as last year but there's always a possibility they could be worse.

If you read basically any media outlet they have us pencilled in for bottom 6 if not bottom 4. Everyone keeps saying "oh but if players x, y and z stay fit it'll be different", I don't buy it. I'm happy to watch our players develop but I'm not expecting a huge turn around
 

Cesoir

Club Legend
Feb 11, 2019
2,721
10,918
Cairns
AFL Club
Fremantle
This is only my first pre season on BF yet I can't help but feel that our expectations of our squad are a little far fetched. I'm not saying things are going to be as s**t as last year but there's always a possibility they could be worse.
You'll find there is a whole spectrum of opinion ranging from the wildly optimisric to the deathly optimistic. Its what nakes BF tick.
 

theGav56

Brownlow Medallist
Oct 11, 2004
29,348
29,310
Bali
AFL Club
Fremantle
Other Teams
Fremantle
I think your assessment of the state of the list is spot on certainly looking forward to the young talent coming through.

However, I can't help but feel everyone (not necessarily you) is getting a little over optimistic. I think Jlo will be a great coach but what's to say that it doesn't take time for the group to buy into his game plan and for it all to click?

You point to our youth, yes they're developing nicely and there's that core group of Andy, Cerra, Darcy and Logue but outside of that things are pretty fresh and raw. And yes we look to have a little bit more depth this year but that will quickly be tested with a few injuries if they occur.

This is only my first pre season on BF yet I can't help but feel that our expectations of our squad are a little far fetched. I'm not saying things are going to be as s**t as last year but there's always a possibility they could be worse.

If you read basically any media outlet they have us pencilled in for bottom 6 if not bottom 4. Everyone keeps saying "oh but if players x, y and z stay fit it'll be different", I don't buy it. I'm happy to watch our players develop but I'm not expecting a huge turn around
Yeah I am eternally optimistic, but not with a one season timeframe. For me the optimism is about the strategic development of a team that can compete for top 4 on a regular basis. I enjoy the rebuilding and think we are still in that mode, especially given the change in coach.

I disagree with you re the emerging youth and think it is deeper. Switkowski, Banfield, Carter, Crowden, Schultz and others for example may never be automatically picked as best 22 and could be delisted unless they hit the top of their potential, but I think they are ready to contribute. Our problems have been that we have required too many of them to play. But now they sit alongside the likes of Matera, McCarthy, Duman and Hughes as players in consideration rather than regulars. That is an important aspect of our current list.

The point in my previous post was about the second half of the season fade outs. Now with a new coach we are probably more likely to see a first half of the season where things could be a bit ugly.
 

wahooo

Club Legend
Oct 9, 2019
1,905
3,228
AFL Club
Fremantle
Yeah I am eternally optimistic, but not with a one season timeframe. For me the optimism is about the strategic development of a team that can compete for top 4 on a regular basis. I enjoy the rebuilding and think we are still in that mode, especially given the change in coach.

I disagree with you re the emerging youth and think it is deeper. Switkowski, Banfield, Carter, Crowden, Schultz and others for example may never be automatically picked as best 22 and could be delisted unless they hit the top of their potential, but I think they are ready to contribute. Our problems have been that we have required too many of them to play. But now they sit alongside the likes of Matera, McCarthy, Duman and Hughes as players in consideration rather than regulars. That is an important aspect of our current list.

The point in my previous post was about the second half of the season fade outs. Now with a new coach we are probably more likely to see a first half of the season where things could be a bit ugly.
Yeah it's certainly nice to be edging ever so slowly towards the end of that rebuild period, a high draft pick at the end of the year would round things off nicely.
 

wayToGo_

Brownlow Medallist
Oct 24, 2015
16,071
50,928
AFL Club
Fremantle
However, I can't help but feel everyone (not necessarily you) is getting a little over optimistic. I think Jlo will be a great coach but what's to say that it doesn't take time for the group to buy into his game plan and for it all to click?
I suspect most long term Freo supporters will just be grateful to be watching a different brand of football (hopefully). I don't think anyone is expecting miracles but we make predictions every year and every year there are surprises. The players will be going out there to make the finals... so we should support them thinking they can as well. I hope for the sake of momentum the group doesn't have the dip that is often associated with teams implementing a new game plan. But if we do, so be it.

Irrespective of the season outcome I think Freo fans should be optimistic given the events of the past few months. We had a great draft and we drafted dire needs -> skills, skills and more skills. We lost both our wingers in the trade period but like when Neale left and our contested ball winning sky rocketed (because other mids were forced to step up and share the load), I could see us retaining the ball a lot better on the outside and relying less on them being the only players who can move the ball between the arcs.

Our large injury list at the start of pre-season has gradually been whittled down to something very reasonable now. A few key players will be out rd 1 but that opens the door for a bunch of youngsters to compete for their spots and get given the opportunity to step up. We'll see a bunch of players playing in positions we've wanted to see them for a while - Cerra and Blakely in the midfield, Tucker more attacking, etc.

Our NGA program looks exceptional. Mzungu is doing a fantastic job and for those that didn't know Ben Howlett (Peel Captain) is now assisting as well. There is an exceptional amount of talent we are identifying through it that would have zero chance of continuing their football careers without it. The relationship with Peel seems to be a bit stronger (loving seeing the Peel youngsters at training - and I'm sure Peel do as well - drafting Pina doesn't hurt either). Without us carrying lots of excess rucks I think Peel will benefit a fair bit as well and they should be aiming for finals even though it will still be a young group.

Similarly our AFLW team is great. Trent Cooper appears the perfect coach for a women's team. The players love him plus all the assistant coaches and support staff (eg Kate Starre). The banter and overall culture of the playing group is as good as I've seen in a sporting team. Although we lost some players, those that are left truly want to be there and bleed purple. A nice touch was this morning with the smoking ceremony at Freo oval. Our club has more ties to indigenous culture than any other and the way we embed it as being a part of Freo FC is really special.

Seeing Henry and Walters become the Starlight Ambassadors the other day has so many positives about it. We seem to have pulled together a really good team with Garlick, Bell, JLo and now having promoted Walls to Head of Player Personnel. The Freo media team has gone to new levels the past few months. The content lately has been exceptionally good. We'll find out if the WA media's pre-season niceties carry through once the season starts over the coming couple of months. There have been some good articles though, and they haven't all been fingernail deep just to tick some box.

And most of all, who doesn't love a debut? We've got a bunch of young players lined up for debuts this season. Young, Serong, Henry, Sturt, Fredericks, Valente will all get debuts in 2020 (injury permitting). Plus new faces Acres and Aish will line up in Rd 1. I won't be surprised to see a couple of Meek, Pina, North and O'Reilly debuting at some point also. That young Hill guy goes alright as well, so will be great to see him out there not hobbling around like he has the past couple of seasons.

I desperately want Freo to finally win a premiership but I think like it is for a lot of others, Freo is much more to me than wins and losses. The journey is always full of frustrations but it just has this vibe about it you don't get from other clubs. I always grin when I scan through Freo's social media accounts and see WC supporters continuous attempts at trolling. 4 Premierships and their lives are reduced to that?!? * me, I would not swap places with them for anything.

Prediction - I'll go optimistic and say we'll finish 8th. I will try my best to not hate West Coast fans but then watch their behaviour at the first derby and throw that resolution out the window (hopefully by first derby I don't mean AFLW in a fortnight). Fyfe will win a 3rd Brownlow. Someone we thought was a spud will become a star. And a not usual suspect will become the resident whipping boy. Someone other than Walters and Matera will kick a goal total associated with typical AFL forwards. A Freo youngster will go close to winning the Rising Star but miss out due to the not in Vic factor.
 
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